Rotatable apparatus

ABSTRACT

The invention discloses a rotatable apparatus including a base and a main body attached thereon. The rotatable apparatus utilizes a gear cooperating with a rack to make the main body rotate and further move along the rack during the rotation of the main body, so as to prevent the main body from colliding with the base.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a rotatable apparatus, and more particularly toa rotatable apparatus which utilizes a gear to cooperate with a rack, soas to prevent a main body of the rotatable apparatus from colliding witha base during the rotation.

2. Description of the Prior Art

The horizontal length of the conventional liquid crystal display (LCD)is usually longer than the vertical length, such that the user canobtain a broader view in horizontal direction. Recently, as technologyhas been developed gradually, the personal computer (PC) has more andmore functions. Consequently, rotatable LCD has been developed for theuser to operate these various functions. In other words, the user mayrotate the LCD by 90 degrees based on individual needs, so as to obtaina broader view in the vertical direction.

In the prior art, when the user wants to rotate an LCD from horizontalto vertical, he/she needs to lift the LCD by a specific distance toprevent the LCD from colliding with a plane or a base during therotation. Afterward, the LCD is rotated to a fixed position. Accordingto the aforesaid mechanism of the convention LCD, it is not veryconvenient for the user to operate, and the design is also morecomplicated.

Therefore, the scope of the present invention is to provide a rotatableapparatus to solve the aforesaid problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A scope of the invention is to provide a rotatable apparatus whichutilizes a gear to cooperate with a rack, such that a main body of therotatable apparatus is capable of moving upward and downward along therack during the rotation, so as to prevent the main body from collidingwith a base.

According to a preferred embodiment, the rotatable apparatus of theinvention comprises a base, a holder, a rack, an auxiliary fasteningmember, a gear and a main body. The holder has a first end and a secondend, and the holder is mounted onto the base via the first end. The rackis mounted onto the second end of the holder; it has a front side and aback side, wherein a plurality of teeth are provided on the front side,and a guide rail is provided on the back side. The auxiliary fasteningmember has a guide groove cooperating with the guide rail of the rack,such that the auxiliary fastening member is capable of moving upward anddownward along the rack. The auxiliary fastening member also has aprotrusion which protrudes from the guide groove. The gear has a firstside and a second side. The first side of the gear is rotatably attachedto the protrusion of the auxiliary fastening member, and the gear ismeshed with the teeth of the rack. The main body is attached to thesecond side of the gear.

In the aforesaid preferred embodiment, the rotation of the main bodytogether with the gear is actuated by applying an external force on themain body to make the gear rotate relative to the teeth of the rack; atthe same time, the guide groove of the auxiliary fastening member movesrelative to the guide rail of the rack. Consequently, the main bodyrotates and moves relative to the base. In other words, when the userwants to rotate the main body of the rotatable apparatus by a specificangle, the main body is capable of moving upward and downward along therack due to the cooperation between the gear and the rack. When the baseof the rotatable apparatus is placed on a plane, and the horizontallength of the main body is longer than the vertical length, the mainbody is capable of rotating and moving upward along the rack, such thatthe user can rotate the main body by a specific angle, and the inventioncan prevent the main body from colliding with the base.

The advantage and spirit of the invention may be understood by thefollowing recitations together with the appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE APPENDED DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a back perspective view illustrating the rotatable apparatusaccording to a first preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1B is a back perspective view illustrating the main body (shown inFIG. 1A) being rotated by 90 degrees.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the rotation of the rotatableapparatus shown in FIG. 1A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, FIG. 1A is a back perspective viewillustrating the rotatable apparatus 10 according to a first preferredembodiment of the invention. FIG. 1B is a back perspective viewillustrating the main body 22 (shown in FIG. 1A) being rotated by 90degrees. As shown in FIG. 1A, the rotatable apparatus 10 comprises abase 12, a holder 14, a rack 16, an auxiliary fastening member 18, agear 20, and a main body 22. The main body 22 may be a display device.In this embodiment, the main body 22 is an LCD. The holder 14 has afirst end 140 and a second end 142. The holder 14 is mounted onto thebase 12 via the first end 140. The rack 16 is mounted onto the secondend 142 of the holder 14 and has a front side 160 and a back side 162. Aplurality of teeth are provided on the front side 160, and a guide railis provided on the back side 162. In another preferred embodiment, theholder 14 and the rack 16 are monolithically formed.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the auxiliary fastening member 18 has a guidegroove 180 cooperating with the guide rail 162 of the rack 16, such thatthe auxiliary fastening member 18 is capable of moving upward anddownward along the rack 16. The auxiliary fastening member 18 also has aprotrusion 182 which protrudes from the guide groove 180. The gear 20has a first side and a second side. The first side of the gear isrotatably attached to the protrusion 182 of the auxiliary fasteningmember 18, and the gear 20 is meshed with the teeth of the rack 16. Themain body 22 is attached to the second side of the gear 20.

In the aforesaid embodiment, the rotation of the main body 22 togetherwith the gear 20 is actuated by applying an external force on the mainbody 22 to make the gear 20 rotate relative to the teeth of the rack 16;at the same time, the guide groove 180 of the auxiliary fastening member18 moves relative to the guide rail 162 of the rack 16. In other words,when the user wants to rotate the main body 22 of the rotatableapparatus 10 by a specific angle, the main body 22 is capable of movingupward and downward along the rack 16 due to the cooperation between thegear 20 and the rack 16, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. When the main body22 rotates from the state shown in FIG. 1A to the state shown in FIG.1B, the main body 22 moves upward along the rack 16, so as to preventthe main body 22 from colliding with the base 12 or the plane where thebase 12 is placed. When the main body 22 rotates from the state shown inFIG. 1B to the state shown in FIG. 1A, the main body 22 moves downwardalong the rack 16. Furthermore, the gear 20 is rotatably attached to theprotrusion 182 of the auxiliary fastening member 18 by a hinge (notshown in the figures), such that the main body 22 can be rotataed by aspecific angle and be fixed at the specific angle.

In the aforesaid embodiment, the rotatable apparatus 10 furthercomprises a resilient member 24, as shown in FIG. 1A. The resilientmember 24 is positioned between the rack 16 and the auxiliary fasteningmember 18, so as to assist the gear 20 in rotating relative to the rack16. Accordingly, it is easier for the user to rotate the main body 22.The resilient member 24 may be a line spring or the like.

Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating therotation of the rotatable apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1A. As shown inFIG. 2, to prevent the main body 22 from colliding with the base 12 orthe plane where the base 12 is placed, the rotatable apparatus 10 can befurther designed to satisfy an inequality (equation 1) as follows:

R×θ>√{square root over (L² +W ²)}−W.   Equation 1

In equation 1, L represents half of the length of the main body 22, Wrepresents half of the width of the main body 22, R represents theradius of the gear 20, and θ represents a desired angle with which themain body 22 is rotated. Furthermore, R×θ represents the distance whichthe main body 22 moves up while the main body 22 is rotated by the angleθ.

Compared to the prior art, when the user wants to rotate the main body22 of the rotatable apparatus 10 by a specific angle θ, the main body 22is capable of moving upward along the rack 16 due to the cooperationbetween the gear 20 and the rack 16, so as to prevent the main body 22from colliding with the base 12 or the plane where the base 12 isplaced. Accordingly, the invention simplifies the complicated structureof the prior art, and it is more convenient and practical for the user.

With the example and explanations above, the features and spirits of theinvention will be hopefully well described. Those skilled in the artwill readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of thedevice may be made while retaining the teaching of the invention.Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only bythe metes and bounds of the appended claims.

1. A rotatable apparatus, comprising: a base; a holder having a firstend and a second end, the holder being mounted onto the base via thefirst end; a rack, mounted onto the second end of the holder, having afront side and a back side, a plurality of teeth being provided at thefront side, and a guide rail being provided at the back side; anauxiliary fastening member having a guide groove cooperating with theguide rail of the rack, such that the auxiliary fastening member iscapable of moving upward and downward along the rack, the auxiliaryfastening member having a protrusion protruding from the guide groove; agear having a first side and a second side, the first side of the gearbeing rotatably attached to the protrusion of the auxiliary fasteningmember, and the gear being meshed with the teeth of the rack; and a mainbody attached to the second side of the gear; wherein the rotation ofthe main body together with the gear is actuated by applying an externalforce on the main body to make the gear rotate relative to the teeth ofthe rack, and the guide groove of the auxiliary fastening member movesrelative to the guide rail of the rack.
 2. The rotatable apparatus ofclaim 1, further comprising a resilient member positioned between therack and the auxiliary fastening member, so as to assist the gear inrotating relative to the rack.
 3. The rotatable apparatus of claim 2,wherein the resilient member is a line spring.
 4. The rotatableapparatus of claim 1, further satisfying an inequality as follows:R×θ>√{square root over (L² +W ²)}−W, wherein L represents half of thelength of the main body, W represents half of the width of the mainbody, R represents the radius of the gear, and θ represents a desiredangle with which the main body is rotated.
 5. The rotatable apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the holder and the rack are monolithically formed. 6.The rotatable apparatus of claim 1, wherein the main body is a displaydevice.
 7. The rotatable apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first side ofthe gear is rotatably attached to the protrusion of the auxiliaryfastening member by a hinge.